HIPAA compliant, BAA available

Measurement-Based Care for Massachusetts Mental Health Teams

For group practices, community behavioural health centres, pediatric and primary care teams from Boston to the Berkshires. Massachusetts law already pays for a yearly mental health wellness exam and for collaborative care; HiBoop sends the scales those visits rely on by email or QR code, scores them on submission and charts each client's change. US customer data stays in Google Cloud US regions.

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HIPAA compliant, BAA available
Data hosted in the US
SOC 2 Type II
Scored on submission
100+
validated assessments
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Massachusetts Writes Screening Into Coverage

  • Chapter 177 of the Acts of 2022, An Act addressing barriers to care for mental health, signed on 10 August 2022, made two kinds of measured care a covered benefit. MassHealth and its contracted plans, the Group Insurance Commission and commercial insurers must cover an annual mental health wellness examination, with no cost-sharing, by a primary care provider or a licensed mental health professional; the law says the exam may include a behavioural health screening and age-appropriate screenings. The same law requires them to cover mental health and substance use services delivered through the psychiatric collaborative care model.

    For children and young adults, the rule is older. Since the Rosie D. remedy, MassHealth has asked primary care providers to offer a standardized behavioural health screen to members under 21 at preventive visits, using a tool from the approved menu in Appendix W of its provider manuals, and to bill the screen with the modifiers set out in Appendix Z. Clinicians in certain levels of care who assess MassHealth members under 21 must also be trained and certified in the Massachusetts CANS.

    What these rules share is a score recorded at a set point, then compared later. HiBoop gives a practice the PHQ-9, PHQ-A, CRAFFT-2.1 and GAD-7, scored on submission and charted for each client, so a wellness exam or a collaborative care caseload starts with numbers your team can follow. HiBoop does not complete the CANS and does not bill MassHealth or a health plan for you.

  • Annual Mental Health Wellness Exam

    Covered with no cost-sharing under Chapter 177 of 2022, by a primary care provider or a licensed clinician

  • Psychiatric Collaborative Care

    A covered model for MassHealth, state employee and commercial plans under the same law

  • Screening Under 21

    MassHealth preventive visits use a tool from the Appendix W menu, which includes the PHQ-9 and CRAFFT

All regions

How HiBoop Supports Massachusetts Care Teams

  • Massachusetts pays for screening, keeps strict rules on mental health records, and expects clinicians to explain the limits of confidentiality. HiBoop handles the scales and the scores, and the clinical decisions remain yours.

  • A Wellness Exam With a Score Attached

    Send the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 before an annual mental health wellness exam, so the visit begins with a scored result rather than a blank form. If a screen raises concern, the C-SSRS Screener sits in the same library.

  • A Registry for Collaborative Care

    Collaborative care depends on a care manager tracking symptom scores across a caseload and bringing them to the psychiatric consultant. HiBoop charts each client's repeated PHQ-9 and GAD-7 scores so that review starts from the numbers.

  • Youth Scales for Pediatric Visits

    The PHQ-A for adolescent depression, the CRAFFT-2.1 for substance use, the SCARED for anxiety and the NICHQ Vanderbilt forms for ADHD, sent to a young person or a parent by email or QR code before the visit.

  • Change Over a Course of Treatment

    Repeat the same scale at intake and through treatment and every result lands on one chart per client, so progress is something your team can see in supervision. The scores inform clinical judgement; they do not replace it.

  • Exports for Long Retention

    Massachusetts mental health facilities keep client records for at least 20 years. Export any client's score history as PDF or CSV for the record you hold, or export your whole account whenever you choose.

  • From Solo Practice to Multi-Site Centre

    Care suits a solo clinician. Team and Network plans bring a group practice or a multi-site community centre onto one account, with role-based access so each staff member sees only what their role allows.

Mental health in Massachusetts

Research data

  • Each figure below links to the source it comes from.

  • 37.2%

    of Massachusetts adults aged 18 to 25 had any mental illness in the past year (model-based annual average, 2023-2024)

    SAMHSA NSDUH, 2023-2024

  • 16.0%

    of Massachusetts residents aged 12 to 17 had a major depressive episode in the past year (annual average, 2023-2024)

    SAMHSA NSDUH, 2023-2024

  • 35.0%

    of Massachusetts residents aged 12 to 17 received mental health treatment in the past year (2024)

    SAMHSA NSDUH, 2024

Research from Massachusetts

  • Pediatric behavioural health screening

    In MassHealth billing data after court-ordered screening began in January 2008, the share of well-child visits coded for a behavioural health screen rose from 16.6% in the first quarter of 2008 to 53.6% in the first quarter of 2009.

    Kuhlthau et al., Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 2011 PMID 21383254

  • Screening in Medicaid primary care

    Among 355,490 children eligible for MassHealth in fiscal year 2009, 46% had evidence of a behavioural health screen and 12% of those with a screening modifier screened positive; 43% of continuously enrolled children with a positive screen had no prior behavioural health history.

    Hacker et al., Pediatrics, 2014 PMID 24298005

  • Behavioural health integration in pediatrics

    Over five years in the first 13 Greater Boston practices of a pediatric behavioural health integration program, integration, psychotherapy visits and guideline-congruent prescribing rose, while total emergency behavioural health spending fell by 19%.

    Walter et al., Pediatrics, 2019 PMID 31186366

  • Symptom checklists in health centres

    In records from 942 children at 4 Massachusetts federally qualified health centres with integrated care, those who saw a behavioural health clinician scored 1.51 points lower on the PSC-17 afterwards than matched children who received no treatment.

    Kim et al., JAMA Network Open, 2025 PMID 40956583

  • Perinatal depression screening

    In a trial across 10 Massachusetts obstetric practices, 312 women who screened positive on the EPDS saw their scores fall by about 4 points by 11 to 13 months postpartum, whether their practice used MCPAP for Moms alone or with added practice-level support.

    Byatt et al., Lancet Public Health, 2024 PMID 38176840

Rules and Programs Massachusetts Teams Work With

  • HiBoop has no affiliation with these laws, programs or boards and no link to MassHealth systems. They frame what payers and auditors in Massachusetts will ask of you.

  • Chapter 177 of the Acts of 2022

    In force

    The 2022 mental health access law added coverage duties for MassHealth, the Group Insurance Commission and commercial insurers. Two concern measurement directly: an annual mental health wellness exam with no cost-sharing, which may include a behavioural health screening, and coverage of services delivered through the psychiatric collaborative care model, in which a care manager and a primary care provider work with a psychiatric consultant.

    Wellness examCollaborative careAll payers

  • MassHealth Screening for Members Under 21

    MassHealth

    Primary care providers offer a standardized behavioural health screen at preventive visits for members under 21, choosing from the approved menu in Appendix W of the MassHealth provider manuals. The menu includes the PHQ-9 and CRAFFT, among others. Codes 96110 and 96127 are billed with the modifiers listed in Appendix Z.

    Appendix W96127Under 21

  • The Massachusetts CANS

    Required assessment

    Clinicians in certain levels of care who provide behavioural health assessments to MassHealth members under 21 must complete training and certification in the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths tool. The CBHI training program at UMass Chan runs the training for MassHealth. HiBoop does not offer the CANS; teams use it alongside the CANS for symptom scales between visits.

    CBHICertificationChildren and youth

  • Community Behavioral Health Centers

    Roadmap for reform

    Under the state's Roadmap for Behavioral Health Reform, Community Behavioral Health Centers opened in 2023, offering outpatient care and 24/7 mobile crisis teams. The Behavioral Health Help Line, 833-773-2445, connects anyone in Massachusetts to treatment by phone, text or chat, whatever their insurance.

    CBHCsMobile crisisHelp Line

Care Teams Across Massachusetts

  • HiBoop runs in a web browser, so a Back Bay group practice and a clinician seeing clients by video in the hill towns use the same check-ins.

  • Greater Boston

    Boston and its neighbouring cities, where a client may see a clinician at a hospital clinic, a community health centre or a private practice.

  • Worcester and Central Massachusetts

    Home to UMass Chan Medical School, which runs the CANS training and certification program for MassHealth.

  • Springfield and the Pioneer Valley

    The Connecticut River valley's cities and college towns, where a clinician's caseload can span Springfield, Holyoke and Northampton.

  • The Berkshires

    The state's far western county, where hill-town roads make email and QR code check-ins between visits worth more.

  • North Shore and Merrimack Valley

    From Lynn and Salem to Lowell and Lawrence, a mix of older industrial cities and coastal towns.

  • South Coast

    New Bedford and Fall River on Buzzards Bay and Mount Hope Bay, with the towns of Bristol County around them.

  • Cape Cod and the Islands

    Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket are reached by ferry or plane, so check-ins clients complete at home spare them a crossing.

Data sovereignty

Why Massachusetts clinics choose HiBoop

  • Why Massachusetts Practices Choose HiBoop

    • Google Cloud regions inside the US hold every US account's client data, encrypted throughout
    • Business associate agreements for covered entities, and a SOC 2 Type II certificate to show your compliance officer
    • Role-based access, and a log entry for every view and export of client data
    • The Care plan is $25/month, cancel any month, and starting needs no credit card
    • Clients complete scales on their own phone through an email link or a QR code at the front desk

  • USD pricing & support

    Transparent pricing in USD with flexible payment options for clinics of every size.

    Care
    For one clinician, billed monthly
    $25
    USD/month
    Team
    Starting price, any number of clinicians
    $200
    USD/month
    Network
    Custom terms for multi-site organizations
    Custom
    Enterprise pricing

100+ validated scales for Massachusetts clinics

  • Validated scales grouped by what they measure, each with its scoring and source. Public programmes often call this routine outcome monitoring (ROM), or patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs): the same practice of giving a validated scale at regular points and reading the scores over time.

  • Pediatric and Adolescent Screening

    • PHQ-A (Adolescent Depression)
    • CRAFFT-2.1 (Adolescent Substance Use)
    • SCARED (Child Anxiety)
    • NICHQ Vanderbilt (ADHD)

  • Adult Wellness Exams and Collaborative Care

    • PHQ-9 (Depression)
    • GAD-7 (Anxiety)
    • C-SSRS Screener (Suicide Risk)

  • Substance Use and Trauma

    • ASSIST (Substance Involvement)
    • TAPS (Tobacco, Alcohol and Other Drugs)
    • PC-PTSD-5 (PTSD Screen)
Browse all assessments

Massachusetts Mental Health Records and Consent

  • HIPAA is the federal baseline. Massachusetts adds its own duties on retaining mental health records, on telling clients the limits of confidentiality, and on who may consent to treatment. None of these laws certifies software. The duties belong to your organization, and HiBoop's part is the tooling that helps you meet them.

  • What Massachusetts law asks

    • Keep client records at a facility that provides mental health care for at least 20 years after the record closes, and describe that retention policy in your notice of privacy practices (G.L. c.123, s.36)
    • Treat communications with a licensed psychologist as confidential and explain the limits of that confidentiality at the start of the professional relationship (G.L. c.112, s.129A)
    • Accept an application for voluntary or outpatient treatment at a facility under Department of Mental Health rules from a person aged 16 or older, or from a parent or guardian for anyone under 18 (G.L. c.123, s.10)
    • Accept consent from a minor aged 12 or older found drug dependent by two or more physicians for care related to that dependency, other than methadone maintenance (G.L. c.112, s.12E)

  • What HiBoop provides

    • A business associate agreement you can sign before any MassHealth client is enrolled
    • Score histories you can export and file, so the 20-year retention duty is met in your own record
    • A logged trail of each view and export, with role-based permissions
    • PDF and CSV exports of score histories for the records you are required to keep

  • Need HiBoop's security details for a review?

    See where client data lives, how it is encrypted and who can open it, plus our SOC 2 Type II status, on the trust page. We sign BAAs and answer vendor questionnaires.

    Open the trust page

Grants & funding for Massachusetts mental health clinics

Funding Guide

  • Public and private funding programs that support measurement-based care implementation.

  • Massachusetts Department of Mental Health (DMH)

    DMH Behavioral Health Technology Grants

    Tech eligible

    The MA DMH issues Requests for Response (RFRs) for contracted behavioral health providers looking to improve quality infrastructure, including technology platforms. Organizations with existing DMH contracts or those serving DMH-eligible populations are primary targets.

    VariesLearn more

  • Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS)

    EOHHS Mobile Apps & Digital Tools Grant

    Tech eligible

    MA EOHHS has issued grants specifically for mobile apps and digital health tools in behavioral health. Notably, the program explicitly covers software subscription fees — not just one-time capital costs. This makes it one of the most directly applicable grants for ongoing platforms like HiBoop.

    VariesLearn more

  • SAMHSA — Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

    Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) Expansion Grants

    Tech eligible

    SAMHSA’s CCBHC grants fund detailed behavioral health services including the infrastructure, staffing, and technology required to meet CCBHC standards. Outcome measurement and digital assessment platforms are explicitly eligible as required infrastructure for CCBHC certification.

    $1M–$5M/yearLearn more

  • SAMHSA

    Mental Health Block Grant (MHBG)

    Tech eligible

    States receive federal MHBG funds and redistribute them to community mental health organizations. Technology, quality improvement, and workforce development are eligible uses. Contact your state mental health authority to understand how MHBG flows in your state.

    State-distributedLearn more

  • SAMHSA

    Primary and Behavioral Health Care Integration (PIPBHC)

    Tech eligible

    SAMHSA’s PIPBHC program funds integration of primary and behavioral health care, including the technology infrastructure needed to coordinate care across disciplines. Outcome measurement platforms and digital assessment tools are eligible as integration infrastructure.

    $500K–$900K/yearLearn more

  • HRSA — Health Resources and Services Administration

    Rural Health Network Development Program

    Tech eligible

    HRSA funds rural health networks to develop shared infrastructure including technology platforms, telehealth systems, and outcome measurement tools. Mental health-focused networks in rural areas can use this to fund shared digital assessment and measurement platforms.

    $250K–$500K/yearLearn more
View all grants & funding

Resources for Massachusetts practitioners

Massachusetts Statutes, MassHealth Guidance and CANS Training

Latest in mental health in California

Crisis and urgent help lines

More crisis lines

Measurement-based care

…starts with what we measure, and how long.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Is measurement-based care mandatory in Massachusetts?

    Not by that name. No Massachusetts law we found requires outpatient clinicians to repeat symptom scales during treatment. What the state does require is narrower and real: MassHealth asks primary care to offer a standardized behavioural health screen to members under 21 at preventive visits, clinicians in certain levels of care must use the CANS for MassHealth members under 21, and Chapter 177 of 2022 makes payers cover a yearly mental health wellness exam and collaborative care, a model built on tracking scores.

  • Can HiBoop support a psychiatric collaborative care program?

    Yes, for the measurement part. A care manager can send the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 on a schedule, see each client's scores charted and bring them to the psychiatric consultant's caseload review. HiBoop does not track billable minutes or submit claims; your billing workflow and payer rules decide how collaborative care codes are reported.

  • Does HiBoop complete the Massachusetts CANS?

    No. The CANS is completed by a certified clinician through the state's process, and HiBoop does not offer it. Teams use HiBoop alongside it for client- and parent-reported scales such as the PHQ-A, SCARED and CRAFFT-2.1 between CANS updates.

  • Can a 16-year-old in Massachusetts start treatment without a parent?

    Under G.L. c.123, s.10, a person aged 16 or older may apply for voluntary admission, and for outpatient treatment at a facility under Department of Mental Health rules; a parent or guardian may also apply for anyone under 18. Separate rules cover minors aged 12 or older found drug dependent. Whether they apply to your setting is a question for your counsel. HiBoop's role-based access lets you decide which staff see a young client's scores.

Official sources for Massachusetts

  • Billing and payment routes

    1. 1.CMS MLN909432: Behavioral Health Integration Services · public program · codes 99484, 99492, 99493, 99494, G2214, G0323 (read in the document on 2026-11-01)
    2. 2.CMS Physician Fee Schedule look-up · fee schedule
    3. 3.SAMHSA: Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHC) · public program

    Fee codes and amounts are set by each payer and change; check the linked schedule before you bill. HiBoop does not submit claims.

    Regulators and licensing

    1. 1.ASPPB: psychology licensing boards · psychologists
    2. 2.ASWB: social work regulatory boards · social workers
    3. 3.Counseling Compact · counsellors
    4. 4.Social Work Licensure Compact · social workers

    Data and statistics

    1. 1.SAMHSA: NSDUH state reports
    2. 2.HRSA: HPSA Find (mental health shortage areas)
    3. 3.NIMH: mental illness statistics

    Listed for reference so you can find the official source. HiBoop is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, any of these organizations.